Sheri said on June 28, 2013 at 3:57 p.m.@Jaime- So many things can be difficult to explain. Imagine having to explain to a child that they cannot ride at the front of a bus, drink from a certain fountain or live in a certain neighborhood. Imagine telling a bright student that the best they can aspire to is domestic work. Yes...many things are hard to defend and yet that was my life. Now my 3.8 granddaughter (her school did not have grades valued above 4.0)is matriculating at UT. Our family has never asked for a handout, only equal access to opportunity. I am sorry you feel race played a part in your child being declined. I am sorry because I know first hand what it is to be pushed aside and denied, in every aspect of life, strictly because of race, not ability. Maybe I should say to you what my mother and father used to say to me: "Sorry. That's the way life is." Kinda burns doesn't it?

Josh said on June 25, 2013 at 8:05 p.m.I recently graduated from UT. I think the question is, "What's fair?" The answer: fair is giving people what they need. Our society is in a transition phase. Unfortunately, ethnicity (culture) is tied to SES and cultural capital. Cultural capital is incredibly important. More important, I believe, than economic security. Asian culture highly values education; that’s why we see many Asians rejected in favor of people of other ethnicities, whose cultures, historically, have not valued education. What we really need at heart is a change in cultural attitudes. UT is trying to engender a cultural revolution, one in which all peoples will have the opportunity to change their own culture, to make it more accepting of education. American culture is comprised of many cultures. Each needs to learn to value education. But that doesn't happen overnight. It'll come in time. As certain cultures grow to value education, the cycle will begin to break. For me, it has begun. I can say that by being exposed to so many different cultures (ethnicities) at UT, I have become more accepting of others. This would not have happened if I had gone to a less diverse school. And let's not forget that diversity means the inclusion of all peoples; it doesn't mean "discrimination" against whites, as many people believe. Whites add to diversity; without whites, multiculturalism is a farce. I can’t stress that enough. I don't think the issue is that we might have too many whites; the issue is that we might have too many people representing one culture—a monopoly on cultures. There’s the true tragedy UT is fighting to prevent.